The cyber security challenge coming to a high school near you

How well do you think high school students understand cyber security? With the rise of the digital age comes the rise of hackers and online crime, and the Australian Computing Academy have partnered up with AustCyber, ANZ, BT, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, and Westpac to bring us “The Schools Cyber Security Challenges” in order to promote digital literacy in the cyber security space.

The program launches February 19th 2019, and demonstrates the value of online privacy by teaching students to think like a hacker. By examining how easily hackers can hijack lousy passwords, or how coding can encrypt sensitive data, students are taught the vital skills that could see them pursuing the career later in life.

What is cyber security?

Cyber crime is any type of crime that takes place online. It could include anything from identity fraud from stolen personal information, to hacking bank accounts and stealing money.

Some cyber crime is just the digitisation of old crimes. For example, hacking or unauthorised access can be seen as a form of trespassing, and digitally stolen money is… well, stolen money.

However, some crimes are made worse by, or unique to the world of cyber crime and might not covered under traditional laws. Cyber bullying is just one example of bad behaviour turned criminal with the help of technology.

Cyber security analysts are coders, working tirelessly to protect the sensitive information of billion dollar corporations, or your computer at home.

Using expert programming knowledge, these cyber detectives will be searching for “gaps” in a website’s code for example. Vulnerabilities mean that hackers could potentially insert their own code into a website to bypass security systems.

Cyber security analysts might also be searching for malware, or phishing scams (information obtained on false pretences). Whatever their day might entail, cyber security is a dynamic and fast-paced career with high stakes.

Have you entered into the cyber security challenge?

Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Author: Eliza Brockwell

Eliza is the Digital Producer for Careers with STEM. Eliza is passionate about creating content that encourages diversity of representation in STEM.